Sermons

Words are important to us as Christians. God created the world through words and pronounced creation “good”. Jesus is the Word that has been with God from the beginning (John 1:1). In the United Church of Christ, we consider preaching to be the Sacrament of the Word and include it in worship every week.

May these words be a source of inspiration to you and nurture for your Christian journey.

You are invited for worship on Sunday mornings at 10am to hear not only the spoken word and our incredible music ministry but also to experience the blessing of a warm welcoming community.

August 7, 2016 Psalms 27 & 40 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman Growing up, there was one person I believed embodied the life and way of Jesus Christ more than anyone else and that was Mother Theresa. From an early age, she felt called to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, and she followed

July 31, 2016 Psalm 46 & 91 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman The sight of her made me smile. There she was, in the car in front of me, just rocking out and singing along with a favorite song. I couldn’t hear a word she sang, as we were stopped at the traffic light, but I knew exactly

July 24, 2016 Psalms 44 & 55 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman Play video clip of “I am a Man of Constant Sorrow” There is an old joke: what do you get when you play a country song backwards? You get your wife back, your dog back, and your truck back. It’s not true of modern country

July 10, 2016 Psalm 1 &23 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman Were they words written by faithful individuals to help them through difficult times? Were they beautiful words of sacred poetry written by the boy who beat Goliath and grew up to be the famous King David? Were they the prayer book,

July 3, 2016 Luke 15: 1-32 By Bob Field The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A

May 8, 2016, Mother’s Day 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Mark 12:26-27a Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman “The Gospel is caught, not taught.” So read the banner on the ceiling beam in the basement fellowship hall. Words written in hand by an Associate Minister who came years before my tenure at that

April 17, 2016 Acts 17:1-9 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman When you go to the amusement park, do you love the large roller coasters that flip you over loop after loop after loop? Are you the first in line for the rides that tumble you side to side and upside down? Or are

April 3, 2016 Acts 1:1-14 Mark 1: 16-20 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman The First Congregational Church is a church of welcome and hospitality. We welcome all people to participate in this community, ministry, and mission, regardless of whether you are a member or not. There comes a time though

Mark 16:1-8 Psalm 118: 19-24 Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” (Casablanca’s last line.) Luke Skywalker and his squadron of x-wing fighters detonating the Evil Empire’s Death Star, making the universe

March 13, 2016 Mark 13:1-8, 32-37 Psalm 102:12-17 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman As far as the eye can see it is pitch-black, totally dark, except for those moments when a star streaks across the sky and then explodes upon colliding with the earth. In the distance, there are the rumbles

March 6, 2016 Mark 12:28-34, 38-44 Psalm 89:1-4 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman Our Capital Campaign consultant, Maryann Doyle, is fond of saying, “When you ask for money, you’ll get advice; and when you ask for advice, you’ll get money.” Luckily, we got lots of both during our very successful

February 14, 2016 Worship service to honor those who are transforming the world with Christ’s love. “You are the light of the world…let your light shine before [God], that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Caroline Goodsell Smith epitomized this passage from

February 7, 2016 Mark 8: 27-36 Psalm 27:1-4 Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman An influential pastor in my life used to say that we were people of two books: The Bible and the hymnal. Sadly, our hymnals often need replacing far sooner than our pew Bibles. It’s important for us to remember th